


The Cat and His Rat

by StarsOnThursday



Series: Pikelavar Week [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animal Transformation, Body Horror, Broken Bones, Curses, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fluff, Magic, Pikelavar week, meet ugly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-07-08 14:50:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19871425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarsOnThursday/pseuds/StarsOnThursday
Summary: When Meklavar catches Dakin stealing from her family in the middle of the night, he lashes out and turns her into a rat. Stuck in her new body, and with no way to break the curse, she finds herself at the mercy of one of the catfolk, and a particularly mischievous one at that.Until, that is, he starts to notice some strange, human-like qualities about his new rat friend.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> it's another multichap! sorry about that! but i've been bursting w/ ideas for this week, and i just couldn't get them all fleshed out in time. i hope that's not too inconvenient!
> 
> i was originally going to make this similar to the swan princess story, but i thought it'd be more fun if Meklavar was a rat!
> 
> also, a quick warning for anyone who needs it: there's some descrptions of injuries and phsyical pain in this chapter. nothing gory, but it's there so if you can't handle that i wouldn't recommend reading this.

The first time Meklavar had ever seen a rat had been in the harvest months of her fourth year, in the fields outside her family's home. Her brother had picked it up and chased her around with it, until they were covered with grass and pollen, and when he'd gotten bored Meklavar scooped the rat up in her hands and took it home. The second she walked through the door with it in her hands, her mother had started screaming.

Her father took it from her and killed it. Meklavar, young and distraught, hadn't been able to stop crying afterwards.

Strangely, when Dakin's spell hit her directly in the chest, and the room began to shrink around her, all she could think about was that rat in the fields. 

She screamed and screamed, and she bit at Dakin's shoes and tried to claw her way up his leg, but he shook her off with a laugh, and disappeared with her family's jewel. He left Meklavar in the darkness, and no matter what she did she couldn't leave the room. The stairs were too big for her, and the doors were too heavy to push.

She could hear screaming from the other side of the door, and the pounding of footsteps, unbearably loud to her new, small ears. The door slammed open, and hit the wall with a thud that made Meklavar cry out. In walked her family, her mother looking around frantically and her father glaring at the place the jewel had been.

"Go and find your sister," He said to his son, who was in full armour. "Tell her the jewel has been stolen. Tell her-"

"I'm here, I'm here!" Meklavar tried to say, as she scurried closer, but all that came out were frantic squeaks. She shouted louder, but it didn't help. Her father glared down at her.

"Get rid of that rat." He said, and her brother pulled out his sling and aimed for her.

She ran. She ran out through the open doorway and into the next room, and then the next and the next. She didn't stop running until she was out of the house, and her new body was completely exhausted. Panting and completely overwhelmed, she collapsed at the edge of the forest, feeling her small heart pumping frantically in her chest.

\-----

She woke a while later, and looked up at the still night air. She was in a part of the forest she'd never seen before, with no idea how she'd gotten there. For a moment, she'd forgotten about what had happened to her, and she wondered why she was sleeping in the forest and why the trees looked so large, even for trees.

She screamed when she remembered, but all that came out of her mouth was a tiny, insignificant squeak.

After that she wasn't sure how much time she spent in the forest. The sun was setting and rising, but she had no idea how many days had passed. The longer she walked in the forest, the more lost she got, until she was walking around, over and over, in circles. She lived off grass and fallen fruit, and longed for her mother's cooking, for broth and stew and bread.

She longed for her mother, and her warmth and her smell.

Every night she thought of her family, and every morning she was attacked by birds. She learned very quickly that birds were her new greatest enemy. They would swoop down above her, trying to catch her in their beaks, and it was only because she'd kept her brain that she was able to avoid them. But as it became easier, she got cockier, until she made a thoughtless mistake and gor herself injured. The bird bit into her foot, and she felt the bone break. She struggled and the bird threw her up into the air, soaring through the wind until she landed with a squeak.

She wasn't sure where she'd landed, but it was warm and dark and she hoped and hoped she wasn't dying. She hoped that dying didn't feel so deceptively comfortable.

Pain radiated from her leg, and every now and then, something was jostling her around. She felt the rub of fabric on her body and guessed that she was in a traveller's bag, or a horse's saddle. She called out but they didn't seem to hear her. She scratched at the fabric of the bag and tried to claw her way out, but it didn't work. Meklavar curled up at the bottom of the bag and breathed heavily through her nose. She wasn't sure where she was in the first place and this stranger was taking her even further away from home.

\-----

Meklavar knew her journey was over when she collided with a hard, unforgiving surface. She cried out as she landed on her broken leg, and again when the bag was opened and light poured in, stinging her eyes.

She tried to shield them by burrowing down further into the bag, but something gripped the back of her neck, and then she was being lifted into the air, helpless, dangling in the air until the person holding her spun her around, and she was looking into wide, curious eyes, the pupil so dialated it almost took over the iris.

Meklavar swallowed. She'd been caught by one of the catfolk.

His ears were perked, and his tail was jerking from side to side. All of his attention was focused on her, she couldn't breathe or twitch without him catching it.

Desperately, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in his head, she started to look around the room. She was in a small, crmaped house filled with furniture. The door was closed shut and she couldn't see any holes or openings in the walls.

"Please, I'm a person," She tried to cry, but all that came out of her mouth was a panicked squeak. She watched as the man's mouth curved up into a wicked, toothy grin.

With one last, desperate cry, Meklavar began to struggle. She swung her body upwards, trying to wriggle out of his hold, but without both of her legs, she couldn't get a good grip on his hand. The man laughed, and he wrapped his fist around her body, his sharp fingernails, _his claws,_ digging into her belly.

But then, instead of biting her, he gave a joyous shout and threw her up into the air. She screamed, the wind flying through her fur, as she started to fall, only for him to catch her again.

He did it over and over, laughing at her while she screamed, playing with his food, and he only stopped when the door to his house opened. An older one of the catfol walked in, and she looked over at the man unhappily. She said something sharp in a language Meklavar couldn't make sense of.

The man replied, laughter in his voice, and he wasn't paying attention to Meklavar anymore, so she pulled herself up as best she could, and bit, hard, into the meat of his hand.

He gave a yowl that made her ears hurt, and then the pressure of his fingers were gone and she was hurtling toward the ground. She held her breath and braced herself to hit the ground, but instead the hit came from the side. It was softer than the floor would have been, but it still made her whole body explode with pain.

Her small body flew sideways, and she hit the ground and skidded across it, coming to a stop just underneath the cat's bed. He'd kicked her across the room, and Meklavar couldn't see his face, but his tone had changed. It was angrier, sharper. Hurriedly, she picked herself up as best she could, and campered toward the wall. There were no escape holes to crawl out of, but at least it would be more difficult for the cat to catch her there.

It was ridiculous to hope that the cat would forget she was there, and that she'd be able to heal her leg and leave in peace. She would fight him if she had to. She would survive as long as she possibly could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some quick warnings for descriptions of injuries and physical pain, and a little bit of blood. (also, if lance's mum has a canon name, i couldn't find it. so i picked one for her)
> 
> i'm really proud of this chapter, and i hope you enoy it! feel free to let me know if you did ;D

Miraculously, Meklavar managed to sleep. She woke with awkward, stiff limbs and her broken leg bent at a weird angle. She was covered in a grimy layer of dust and she could feel it on her fur. With a heavy sigh, she began to push herself forward slowly, the old wood beneath her rough against her belly.

She couldn't see the cat. There were no signs of him walking around, and she couldn't sense any movement at all. Maybe he was asleep. If he was asleep, it meant she could try and get at his food. Or escape. Slowly, Meklavar pulled herself out from under the bed, and looked around the room. There was no one there.

The air, though, moved above her as it was disturbed. The fur on her back stood up and she managed to look up just in time to see the clawed hand of the man who had kicked her coming down toward her, and she turned back toward the bed and ducked underneath it.

His fingertips caught her tail just as she was hiding, and he started to pull her up but she gripped one of the bedposts, her tiny fingers digging desperately into the wood. She heard him huff as he released her, and his hand followed her as she scampered under the bed.

He could only get about half his hand in before it got stuck between the bed and the floor, low to the ground as it was. With a low growl, he dropped to the floor, his tail snaking its way under the bed. Meklavar could only see one of his eyes, and it scanned the floor for her. She wondered if it would be too much of a risk if she darted forward and stuck her tiny hand directly into his iris.

Before she could seriously consider it, though, she had to dart out of the way of a broom handle, though it still got her in the side; it was difficult to move fast when he leg was dragging on the ground next to her. The cat started to wave the broom wildly under the bed, trying to force her out. Though she managed to dodge most of the waving, she got hit by the handle more than once. Though it wasn't enough to make her go out directly into the cat's paws.

He muttered something in a language Meklavar didn't know, and then with another growl he dropped the broom and stood. His fingertips appeared seconds later underneath the bedframe, holding onto it like he was about to pull it up, and Meklavar gave a panicked squeak, running to the opposite corner of the frame, huddling into it like that would make her invisible.

He'd just started to lift the wood when a high, ringing voice interrupted.

"Pike!" The voice said, as the door opened and in walked two pairs of small feet, followed by two tails. If Meklavar had to guess, she'd say those small feet belonged to children. Catfolk children, specifically.

The children crossed the room until they were stood in front of Pike, both of them yelling over each other. Meklavar couldn't understand the language they were using, but even if she could she doubted she'd be able to understand them, they talked so fast.

"Pike!" The children shouted again, and Meklavar guessed that must be this man's name.

After a few seconds of yelling that, quite frankly, was so loud to her small ears that it made Meklavar want to tear them off, Pike sighed heavily and left with the children, shutting the door firmly behind him.

He was gone, and she was alone in his house. She scurried out from under the bed.

\-----

A couple of days later, both Meklavar and the man were woken by loud knocking on his door. He grumbled as he got up, and answered the door in his night clothes, with his chest exposed. He swung the door open and said something brief and hard to the person on the other side, who responded by pushing their way in and sitting down at his table.

It was a woman, and her brows were pulled down in a deep frown. She wore heavy leather armour, and her long, red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail.

"I have a job for you. Shouldn't take you long." She said, shortly. There were no pleasantries. Meklavar watched as Pike bristled.

"What is it?" He asked.

"There's something I want, and the current owner refuses to give it to me. I want you to take it."

"By any means necessary?" Pike asked, his voice hard.

"Naturally." The woman replied. She didn't relax in Pike's chair at all, instead sitting up, her back completely straight.

"This is the last time." Pike told her, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"If you say so," She replied easily, standing up and making for the door. She passed him a piece of folded parchment, and he looked down at it like it was burning him. "I want this done tonight. Don't waste my time."

With that, she left, and Pike swore angrily as he slammed the door behind her. He whirled around, and began stuffing things into his bag and changing into clothes Meklavar could tell were meant to conceal him, tight to his body and in shades of brown and green. She could hear him grumbling, right up until he was leaving.

She expected him to storm out and slam the door, but instead he paused and, with a heavy sigh, walked back into the house instead. He rummaged in the bag of food he kept on his table, but instead of taking it with him, he placed a torn-off piece of bread and a carrot on the floor. Then, he turned and left, and he did not slam the door behind him.

\-----

The bread he'd left her was surprisingly tasty. She'd expected it to be stale, and maybe even mouldy, but it was fresh-tasting and delightful. If she closed her eyes and concentrated hard, she could almost make it taste like the bread her father made back home.

She ate as much as her small body would allow, which was a surprising amount, and then spent her time trying to find a gap in the house's stonework that she could maybe burrow through. She doubted she'd ever be able to leave otherwise. The door was too heavy to open on her own, especially with her injured leg, and it wasn't like she could just ask someone to open it for her.

Besides, Pike seemed more interested in playing with her than setting her free.

Meklavar was halfway through inspecting one of the bigger stone blocks by the foot of the bed when the door burst open, and she turned her whole body around to see Pike stumble in, grunts filling the small house. He shuffled his way over to the table, and it was only when he sat down that Meklavar noticed the way he was clutching his stomach.

She moved closer to the table, listening to his laboured breathing. She wondered what had happened. Though her eyes couldn't see that well in the dark, as it was deep into the night, his evidently could. He seemed to notice her, his head jerking toward her when she got close enough. He said something to her in that language she didn't understand, then went rummaging in his bag for something.

Candles and matches, along with bandages and bottles that Meklavar assumed contained salves. He put them all on the table in front of him, his shaking hands reaching for the matches. He pulled one out but dropped it, and it landed next to Meklavar just as she got close to him.

Pike gave a strange, breathless sound when she picked it up with her small hands. It proved to be too difficult to carry it and walk on her bad leg at the same time, so she put the wood in her mouth and but down, taking it to him that way instead. She gripped onto the ruined hem of his pants, ready to pull herself up, but instead Pike gave a pained groan and bent down, scooping her up in his hands.

It didn't hurt, that time. She couldn't feel the sharp bite of his claws, and instead of throwing her up into the air, he set her gently down on the table instead. He took the match from her and lit it, and his face was immediately transformed by the spark of warm light. When the candle was lit he looked back at her, eyes soft, but narrowed.

"I've never seen a rat that looks like you before," He said, voice quiet. "You're so small. And so orange. Are you really a rat?"

He paused, like he was really waiting for her to answer. And Meklavar, very slowly and deliberately, shook her head.

There was a moment of silence, and she could see Pike's eyebrows pull down, like he hadn't been expecting that. She could see the beginnings of a disbelieving smile, so before he could pretend that had been nothing, she began to push one of the salves toward him.

"Wait," He started, staring at her with wide eyes. "Is this a joke?"

Again, Meklavar shook her head. Pike opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but gave a sharp, loud yelp instead, his hand going back to clutch his stomach, and Meklavar gave the bottle another push toward him. They could talk when he was bandaged up.

Or, well, he could talk at her and she could nod.

"It's not life-threatening," He said, as he poured some of whatever was in the bottle onto a cloth. When he lifted the bottom of his shirt, he had to peel it away from the blood. "Just a cut that's a little too deep. I'll be fine."

He gave a yell through his clenched teeth as he pressed the wet fabric to his wound, and began to clean off the blood. The more blood he cleaned off the better Meklavar could see that he was right: it was a large cut, but the blood had made it look worse than it actually was. Still, it looked painful.

Pike picked up another bottle and wiped a thick, green-tinted salve over the wound before he started to bandage himself up, pulling the cloth tight around his lower belly. He pulled his shirt off, and he did it so unselfconsciously that Meklavar felt a little strange watching.

She'd thought that was the end of it; that he would blow out the candle and go to bed, and probably leave her on the table and chalk their half-conversation up to delusion, but instead he picked up the used match and cut off a smaller strip of the bandages he'd been using.

"That will do until I can see the physician tomorrow. Come here," He said to Meklavar and she limped forward cautiously. She gave a panicked squeak as Pike reached for her leg, but he ignored her. "Stay still." He told her, as he started to line the match up to her foot, and it was only then that she realised what he was doing. She kept still so he could wind the bandage around her foot and the match, trying her best not to cry out in pain as he tied it off as best he could, making vague soothing sounds all the while.

When he leant back in his chair, looking every bit like the smug cat he was, Meklavar inspected her leg. He'd made her a splint, and her leg no longer bent awkwardly to the side. She tried putting pressure on it, and though it was still very painful, it was a lot easier to balance herself.

"I think," Pike said, as he reached forward to pick her up again, blowing out the candle as he did so. "I'd like to ask you some more questions. But before that, I'm going to sleep. Make sure this isn't a dream. Now I know you're not a rat, it would be unfair to make you sleep under the bed, yes?"

Meklavar squeaked her agreement.

Pike winced as he stood, but he seemed much better than he had been, no longer stumbling. Instead, he shuffled them both toward his bed, and as he settled down beneath his pelts, he let Meklavar snuggle into the warm dip of his shoulder.

\-----

Just like the morning before, they were both woken by a loud, ringing bang. Pike sat up, back straight, and the movement nearly threw Meklavar to the floor. She scrambled up, just as loud footsteps made their way to the bed. A shadow fell over Pike, and she saw his eyes go wide.

Meklavar looked up and saw the older cat from the day before, her brows pulled down angrily and her arms crossed against her chest as she stared at Pike. She said something in that language Meklavar couldn't understand, and Pike replied hurriedly, waving his hands in front of his face like a surrender.

Meklavar may not speak his language, but she could recognise "Sorry, Mom," anywhere.

So the older cat was his mother. It made sense, seeing how she was gesturing angrily at his wound and yelling at him, while he tried to placate her. She made him stand, practically marching him over to the table, where all the ointments and salves from last night were still out. Meklavar watched as Pike's mother removed his bandages and winced at his wound, before slowly and meticulously wrapping him up again with fresh cloth, Pike complaining petulantly at her the whole time.

Meklavar started when she noticed him looking over at her, frowning like he hadn't expected her to be there in the morning. He leant his head towards his mother's and said something to her, and her head snapped round so she could stare at Meklavar too. Meklavar scurried under the pillows, having had enough of curious cats, but soon after they were pulled off her, exposing her to the morning light and the eyes of two attentive catfolk. She squeaked miserably.

The pain she was expecting, though, didn't come, and instead Pike picked her up gently in his palms, letting her rest there instead of throwing her around. He said something to his mother and showed Meklavar off to her, letting her rake her gaze over her small, defenceless body.

"Looks like a rat to me." She said, one eyebrow cocked, completely unimpressed. Pike pushed his palms closer to her insistently.

"Tell her," He said, to Meklavar. "Are you a rat?"

Again, Meklavar shook her head.

"A deity?" Pike's mother asked. "Some sort of magical creature?" Meklavar shook her head. She tried to speak, but all that came out was one long squeak. Pike's mother was studying her, a pensive look on her face. She said something to Pike, and he placed her down on the table. The older cat picked up the matches and pulled one out, placing it down in front of Meklavar, as she said:

"Take this to the other side of the table, and then roll it off the side."

Meklavar almost wanted to refuse; she didn't know why this cat was ordering her around or why she should do as she was told, but it would be a lie to say she didn't fear what this woman would do if she thought Meklavar really was a normal rat after all. So she put the match in her mouth and began to limp to the other side of the table, and as she dropped it down she turned to look at Pike's mother, who was watching her with large, dark eyes. Meklavar shivered as she began to push the match, watching it roll right to the edge. It hit the floor with a tinny sound, and she heard Pike suck in a breath.

"He helped me bandage myself up last night," He said to his mother, who hummed to herself.

"I think I know someone that can help," She said. "But I don't know how well it will work on anyone who isn't catfolk," Then, to Meklavar: "It's a spell. Are you willing to try?"

Meklavar nodded as hard as she could. She was willing to do anything, at that point.

\-----

They agreed to do the spell that night, since the moon was waning and apparently that was important. Well, Pike and his mother (who had introduced herself as Jessamin) had decided to do it that night, and Meklavar hadn't really had a say. She wasn't complaining, though. The less time she was a rat, the less chance she'd come across another cat that would be more interested in eating her than in playing with her.

Someone from the neighbouring village had had to be sent for, and apparently they historically had only performed magic meant for catfolk, but Meklavar knew it was that or stay a rat, and she was willing to take the risk.

She spent the whole day thinking about what she was going to do as a person again. The first thing she was going to do was go back home, to see her family again. She felt the excitement buzzing under her skin every time she thought about hugging her mother, being welcomed home by her father, telling her brother about what it was like to be a rat. Then, she thought, she'd probably go after the jewel. It was infuriating, being stuck as a rodent while Dakin got further and further away from justice.

Night came faster than she'd thought it would. She expected the day to drag but it went so fast she had barely prepared herself for the ritual to come when Jessamin and a whole small crew of people filed through the door to Pike's house. He scooped her up in his hands and put her gently down on the table and she looked up at the circle of people that had gathered around her, all studying her with their keen eyes and perked ears. She briefly considered jumping off the side of the table altogether.

"Are you ready?" Jessamin asked, but before Meklavar could even think about answering, she could feel the distinct prickling of magic on the ends of her fur, settling over her like an invisible blanket. She didn't know what was happening; no one was speaking, the people around her simply linked their arms together and closed their eyes.

She listened out for speaking, for humming, or anything remotely resembling a spell or incantation, but nothing came. And eventually, she couldn't hear anything over the pressure in her ears, crushing her head until she was sure it was warped and misshapen. Her vision tinted red, and she could hear her blood rushing through her veins. The worst, however, came when someone pushed her down onto her back on the table, and she struggled and struggled - screaming the whole time, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

The spell had failed. There was no way it could be that painful; the only explanation was that they'd made a wrong turn, somewhere, and that she was going to die as a rat on Pike's table. Whoever was holding her down pressed more firmly, and she was completely helpless.

"Please," She begged, over and over, knowing they couldn't hear her. "I'm dying." The pain, however, didn't stop. It kept going, mounting and mounting until it was all she knew, constant and never-ending, and when she really couldn't take it anymore, her body shut down completely.

It was obvious when she woke back up that she hadn't been out for very long. She was lying back on Pike's table, her point of view completely different, and she sucked in a breath of air. She almost didn't want to look down at herself, terrified of still seeing a rat's body. So, she wiggled her fingers and her toes, and found them right where they were supposed to be. She also found, with a jolt of pain that went right up her side, that her leg was still broken.

The first thing she noticed when she looked down at herself was that her limbs were back where they should be. She could see her hands and legs exactly as they'd been before she was cursed. The second thing she noticed was that she was completely naked, and the third thing was stranger: there seemed to be an oversized rat tail hanging off the side of the table, too.

"Hello," Came an unfamiliar voice from her side, and Meklavar whipped her head around to see a friendly-looking cat, a small wooden medical kit clutched in her hands. "Would you mind if I looked you over?"

Meklavar shook her head, not wanting her first word as a person again to be _no._ She was about to ask what had happened when she was hit in the face with something soft, and when she pulled it away from her face she found it to be a long, red length of fabric.

"I thought you were a boy," Came Pike's voice, and Meklavar looked up to see his face burning red, wide-eyed and looking anywhere but at her.

"Sorry to disappoint," She said, to him, and his face flushed an even deeper shade of red. It was cute. She wrapped the fabric around her body as best she could while the physician looked her over. "Thank you."

"You-" Pike started, after a lengthy pause. He still wasn't looking at her. "You didn't. You aren't."

"What?" Meklavar asked.

"Disappointing."

"What's your name?" Asked the physician, giving Pike a strange look out of the corner of her eye.

"Meklavar."

"That's beautiful," She said. Then: "Can you turn over, please? I'd like to get a look at your tail."

"My tail?" Meklavar asked with a laugh. "Did that not fall off?"

The physician's smile dimmed slightly, and she looked at Meklavar with wide eyes.

"What?" She asked.

"Were you expecting it to?" Asked another voice, and Meklavar jumped as Jessamin appeared behind her.

"Are you saying it _didn't?"_ She asked, and got two raised eyebrows for it.

"It was a spell for catfolk," Pike interrupted, and when Meklavar looked over it seemed like his blush was gone. "Maybe it assumed that-"

"That your ears and tail were meant to be there." Jessamin finished for him. Slowly, Meklavar reached out and touched the oversized tail on the table.

Only to _feel_ the touch on a brand new part of her body.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! so its been a little while! i took a break writing this, bc i went on a trip to cardiff! its a little less polished and a litte more rushed than i would have liked, but its been in my drafts long enough and if i dont upload it now it'll drive me insane. so here you go! hope you enjoy it <3

"So, what you're telling me," Meklavar started, trying to ignore the sight of her tail falling off the edge of the table she was sitting on. "Is that this is irreversible?"

"As far as we know, yes." The physician said, matter of fact. In the corner, her assistant, the girl who had been there at her ritual, shuffled her feet, looking longingly at the doorway. It was only afterwards that Meklavar had discovered that she was Pike's sister, Rahael.

"I don't think I've seen anyone in your condition before in my life." Said the physician, looking at Meklavar - or more specifically, her new ears - with cool, impartial eyes. She was a small woman, slight but no less intimidating for it. Had Meklavar not been in such a dire position, she probably wouldn't have been able to speak to her at all.

"Also," The physician started again, tone measured like she knew Meklavar wasn't going to like what she had to say. "I'm afraid your leg is going to be permanently damaged."

"Excuse me?" Meklavar asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rahael inch closer to the door.

"You had your leg broken as a different species," The physician told her in a frustratingly calm voice. "It will heal, but the way it was broken will mean you won't be able to balance on it the same way."

"Well, what does that mean?" Meklavar asked.

"It means you'll need a cane," The physician said. "Or, we can acquire a prosthetic, but we'll need to go outside the village for it."

"A prosthetic?" Meklavar asked, trying to talk through the tightening of her throat and the uncomfortable writhing of her stomach. Dakin was out there, somewhere, and if she wanted to find him, she'd need her legs.

"Yes, a prosthetic."

"I think I'll be okay with the cane." Meklavar said. The physician furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's not wise to make decisions based on emotions." She said, and Meklavar felt her nails push painfully into the skin of her palms.

"Regardless, that's my decision." She said. With a sigh, the physician nodded.

"You're free to come back should you change your mind. Please don't overestimate my schedule, though. I don't have time to have people pop in to ask questions. Rahael, get her a cane." In the corner, Rahael nodded, and left the room as quickly as she could. It took her a while to come back, and when she did, she was clutching a basic, wooden, handmade cane in both her hands.

"Here," She said, when Meklavar made to stand up, gripping her by the arms to help her stand. "See how this works."

"Thanks," Meklavar said as she gripped the handle, balancing on her good leg, and immediately she found it much easier to stand. Tentatively, she put all her weight on one leg, and moved the cane forward a step. She had to jump to catch up with it, and she wouldn't know how long her other leg would stand for that, but for then it was better than not being able to walk at all.

"How is it?" Rahael asked, placing one hand on Meklavar's back, between her shoulders.

"It'll do." Meklavar said. Thankfully, her new tail stopped just beneath her ankles, so she was in no danger of accidentally stabbing it with the cane.

"You can feel free to go when you're ready." The physician's voice came from across the room, and Meklavar saw Rahael grimace. With a resigned sigh, she started to move towards the door, Rahael following her closely. Every now and then, when she wobbled, Rahael would put a hand on her arm or back, and Meklavar had to swallow back angry words.

"This will probably get easier with practice." Rahael said when they walked out of the door together.

"Probably," Meklavar said through clenched teeth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone moving towards them, and when she turned her head, she saw it was Pike. Distantly, she registered that was the first time she'd ever seen him out of his house.

When she'd been a rat, his house had seemed so closed-off that it was difficult to imagine anything outside of it. She'd been trapped in there, unable to see the village, or its dirt roads, or its friendly citizens and their interesting, distinct fashions. She had never seen anything quite like catfolk fashion. She hadn't ventured far from her home growing up, and when she did it was into the market towns with her family, where everyone wore tight, figure-displaying clothes, and she took every opportunity to not wear it, and opt instead for her comfy work clothes.

In Pike's village, the trend was loose clothes that were tight only on certain, more shapely parts of the body, which she'd discovered when Pike's mother practically forced her into some clothes. Pike himself seemed to be an outlier; She hadn't seen anyone else in his village in the same leather armour that he wore.

"So, you're a dwarf, huh?" Came a familiar voice into her ear. She turned and almost bumped right into Pike, who had gotten closer than she expected and was leaning right over her shoulder.

"Yep," She said. "The name's Meklavar."

"Yeah, you said," He told her, and he flashed her a smile, the corner of his mouth pulling up. "That dress looks nice on you."

"Thanks," She said, unsure of what else to say. This was a man who she had a complicated history with, and she wasn't quite sure what to say to him. Not to mention last time she'd seen him she'd been completely naked. Pike crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his feet.

"So," He started, drawing the word out. "How'd it go in there?"

"It went alright," Meklavar said. She balanced on her good leg so she could hold the cane up to show him. "I have to use this now."

"That's not too bad," He said, though he grimaced. "How are you feeling?"

Next to her, Rahael made a hesitant sound, and looked between them awkwardly when they both turned to look at her.

"I'm, uh," She started, pointing back towards the door they'd just walked out from. "I'm gonna go back in there. Bye."

Pike opened his mouth to speak but she was gone before he could get any words out, darting between the doors and letting them slam shut behind her. When Meklavar gave Pike a searching look, he just gave her a shrug back.

"I'm okay," She said, after a pause. "I'm not a rat anymore," She swallowed, looking down at the floor again. "But I can't leave the village yet. My leg needs to heal some more."

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that," Pike said, one hand coming up to run through his hair. "My mother thinks you should stay with her. But I thought it would be better to give you the option. Y'know, because you, uh, haven't had many of those lately."

"What," Meklavar started with a laugh. "Does Jessamin think you're going to defile me or something?"

Pike, however, did not laugh back. Instead, his face flushed, and he seemed very interested in his shoes, suddenly.

"Not _defile,_ exactly." He said.

"Oh," Meklavar said.

"Plus," Pike started quickly, his hands coming up in front of him, palms out. "I'm not exactly popular here. It's probably better if you don't stay with me."

"What do you mean?" Meklavar asked.

"Well," Pike turned his head, and when Meklavar followed his gaze she found he was right; he was being glared at by a small section of older catfolk, who dispersed the second they caught Meklavar looking.

"What was that about?" She asked, and when she looked back Pike was studying her, frowning.

"Here probably isn't the best place to talk about it," He said. "But do you see what I mean?"

"I suppose," Meklavar said. "And if it makes you more comfortable, I can stay with Jessamin."

Pike opened and closed his mouth, looking like an awkward fish, before he looked back down at the ground, his hands wringing together.

"Thanks." He said.

\-----

Pike's mother, as it turned out, was quite an important woman. Meklavar wasn't sure exactly how their system worked, having grown up a dwarf in a city, but from what she could tell Jessamin seemed to be one of the village leaders. The other catfolk were exceedingly polite to her and were constantly trying to get her attention. And when she came for Meklavar that evening, the glares that had been directed at Pike earlier were nowhere to be seen.

Jessamin practically marched her through the village, and she could almost tangibly feel the villager's eyes on her, studying the weird new rat girl. They walked through the village together, past houses and shops, and Meklavar felt on display the whole time, until they reached a large building, closer to the forest and shadowed by the trees, separate from the rest of the village.

"This is my family's home." Jessamin said, as she walked in, Meklavar behind her. "You're welcome here, since you're so involved with my son."

Meklavar stumbled, reminded of the reason she was there in the first place.

"I wouldn't say we're involved." She said, voice low. Jessamin gave a single hum but didn't say anything else.

"But," She started. "You will still be expected to do your share while you stay with us," Meklavar nodded when Jessamin turned to look at her. She'd been expecting that, and she really didn't mind. She owed Pike and his family, after all. "However, since it's your first night, and you're still acclimating, I'll let you off."

"I'd be happy to help out any way I can," Meklavar said. "But I, uh, I don't know how useful I'll be. My parents are alchemists, and we had servants do all the more-"

"Practical jobs?"

"I don't think alchemy is impractical." Meklavar said, a tad defensively. There was a strange sensation in her scalp, which she realised a second too late was her new ears moving of their own accord.

"Of course not," Jessamin said, with a kind smile, eyeing the top of her head. "But alchemy is what you do when you have the luxury of doing it. It's not a problem though. I'll have Pike show you around the field tomorrow morning. Do you know how to make bread?"

"Not really," Meklavar said, with a wince. She'd never thought she'd have to. She supposed Jessamin was right - it would be a very practical skillset to have.

"Well, then, come with me. That'll be your first lesson."

Jessamin gestured behind her for Meklavar to follow and started to lead her further into the house. The house was bigger than Meklavar would have expected from such a small village, and as they passed by rooms with archways instead of doors, Meklavar noticed them filled with beautiful wooden furniture, and cozy-looking rugs and even some tapestries, in lovely oranges and pinks.

A young man stepped out of one just as Meklavar passed, and he looked very much like Pike, but somehow even taller. He eyed her ears curiously, not even pretending he wasn't staring. His eyes flicked down to hers, and he gave her a grin, like they were sharing a secret. Meklavar, however, had no idea what the secret was.

"Your home is lovely," Meklavar said, as she chased after Jessamin, who walked decidedly fast.

"Thank you," She said. "It's big enough to raise my children's children in, which is good. It's housed all of us for generations, and it will hopefully continue to."

"I think I read somewhere that most catfolk are homebodies." Meklavar said.

"It's true," Jessamin gave a laugh. "We live in groups and we hardly stray. Why, have you never met one of us before?"

"This would be the first time," Meklavar said. "But, if you live in groups, then why does Pike live on the other side of the village, on his own?"

Jessamin stopped and went quiet and was quiet for so long that it made Meklavar's hands a little sweaty. It was obviously a sensitive topic, and she greatly regretted asking.

"Pike has made some mistakes," She said eventually, tone careful. "Very stupid mistakes that he is punishing himself for. I don't think he needs to, but he insists. Isolating himself is one of the ways he does that. I suggest you ask him for the details, though." And with that she turned and started walking again, and Meklavar got the feeling the conversation was over. Jessamin led her into the kitchen, where a man with a particularly long tail was stood, watching over a large pot on the hearth. He gave Meklavar a smile as she walked in.

"Hello," He said. "You must be Pike's new friend."

"That's me," Meklavar said, with her best smile. His eyes flicked upwards to her head, just like everyone's seemed to do. He was polite enough to act like he hadn't, though.

"This is another of my sons, Lu." Jessamin said as she led Meklavar over to the table in the middle of the room and heaved a heavy-looking bag over to her.

"You and I are going to turn this into bread," Jessamin said, as she slid into the chair opposite Meklavar. "We've got a special event coming up."

Once Jessamin had showed Meklavar how to knead and separate the dough, she was left to her own devices. Meklavar worked until her knuckles were sore and her bones cracked when she moved them, and when she looked up out of the window, the sun was just beginning to set. Between the two of them, they'd made enough bread to feed the entire village.

"What is this for?" Meklavar asked, gesturing the small mounds of dough on the table. "Surely it can't be for tonight."

"It's not," Jessamin said cryptically. She looked up at Meklavar with a quick grin. "You'll see what it's for soon," Then, with a mischievous glint in her eye: "I think it's time for bed now, though, so we should get cleaned up."

"Already?" Meklavar asked, looking out to the orange hues in the sky.

"Oh, yes," Jessamin said, with a quirked brow. "I don't know what time alchemists wake up, but here we sleep early and wake up even earlier."

"Ah." Meklavar said. As a rat, she hadn't been paying attention to what time she went to sleep - she'd been too busy just trying to survive. But the rest of her family liked to stay up working until well into the night. Meklavar didn't think she'd ever willingly woken up before the middle of the day before.

"And in the morning," Jessamin said, much more quietly, as she gently gripped Meklavar's forearm. "You can use my study, and send a letter to your family."

\-----

Meklavar found out what Jessamin had been cryptically hinting at a couple of days later, when she was dragged outside by her arm by Rahael to find what looked like a party. All eyes turned to her when she walked out of the house, and it was strange and unnerving, until Jessamin made her way out to the front and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"The village would like to welcome you," She said, giving Meklavar's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "So, go and eat, Enjoy yourself."

With that, she left Meklavar out into the fray, to fend for herself. Immediately, she looked around for Pike. She wanted to ask him about why he lived so far away, about the glares, and she also just wanted to talk to him. She'd barely been able to since she left his house with his mother, and she was curious about him. She wanted to know him. But to do that she had to talk to him, and she couldn't see him anywhere.

She ended up standing by a table filled with food instead, the bread she and Jessamin had made in pride of place in the middle, talking to people who came up to her, who mostly just wanted an excuse to stare at her new appendages up close.

She was just about to try and find Jessamin, and thank her, and then innocuously slip back inside the house, when she felt a tug on her skirt.

"Hello," Said a high, curious voice that sounded vaguely familiar, and Meklavar looked down to see a child, with brown hair and ears, her sleek tail trailing on the ground. "Can I touch your ears?"

"Uh," Meklavar started, just as two large hands landed on the child's shoulders, and Meklavar found Pike looking at her, apologetic.

"Nadia," He whisper-hissed. "You can't just ask a stranger if you can touch their ears."

"Why not?" The child, Nadia, asked. Meklavar guessed this was probably one of the children she'd seen in Pike's house.

"It's okay," Meklavar said quickly, figuring this was a good way to start a conversation. "You can touch my ears if you want."

With a small cheer, Nadia held her arms up to Pike who, with a roll of his eyes, got down on his knees and let her climb onto his back, and when he stood she clung to his clothes in a way that looked very uncomfortable for him. Without another word, she reached out and stroked the outer part of Meklavar's ear, where all the fur was.

Nadia's eyes went wide and Meklavar tried to ignore the urge to wrinkle her nose against the sensation. It was strange and foreign and she wasn't sure she liked it, a phantom limb made real.

"Sorry about this," Pike's voice came. When Meklavar looked over at him, he gave her an uncertain smile.

"It's okay," She said. Nadia had started pinching her skin, and it was getting more and more uncomfortable. "Is this a friend of yours?"

"She's my niece," Pike told her. "Lu's daughter."

"Does that mean we're not friends?" Nadia asked, not even bothering to look at him.

"Course not," Pike said. "Relatives can be friends, too."

"Good." Said Nadia, as she brought up her other hand and started gripping Meklavar's ear harder.

"Okay," Pike said, and he dropped low to the ground again as Nadia gave a disappointed whine. "That's enough. Stop bothering her, now."

"She wasn't-" Meklavar started, as he pressed a hand into his niece's back and gave her a gentle push in the opposite direction.

"She was," He interrupted, coming back up to face her with a small smile. "How are you, by the way?"

"I'm doing okay," She said, leaning her hip against the table. "Just waiting for my leg to heal. Getting used to being stared at. You know, the usual."

"I know that feeling." Pike said, with a grimace and a sweeping glance around at the rest of the villagers. Meklavar took in a sharp breath, realising this was the best time to ask him about what was going on with him.

"Pike-" She started, pushing herself up with her cane, but he reached out to hold her wrist in a loose grip, interrupting her.

"Do you feel up to walking?" He asked, and he smiled when Meklavar nodded. "Because I think we should go somewhere else."

Meklavar glanced over his shoulder, and she could see the small group that had gathered, glaring at the two of them.

"I think that's a good idea." She said, and she let him lead her away, the only noise between the two of them the tapping of her cane. When he deemed them far enough away, he let go of her, and her skin buzzed where he'd touched it. He'd led them to a place far enough away that she could still hear people talking to each other, but there was no one else around.

It was a small clearing in the trees, and when Meklavar walked a little further in she realised it was a clifftop, with a small fire pit and various rocks around it that looked perfect for sitting on. She wondered how often Pike went there.

"Why do they look at you like that?" She asked, right to the point, because they both knew why he'd brought her there. He gave a sigh, and looked down at the crashing ocean.

"You know, you're the only person from outside this village that I've met who hasn't been awful," He started. Meklavar said nothing. "Most of the other people I talk to are rude at best, pure evil at worst." He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Do you have any siblings? He asked.

"Just one," Meklavar said. "My older brother." Pike nodded distractedly, looking out in front of himself again.

"I'm the youngest of five," He told her. "And I loved attention so much I went out of my way to get it. Of course, the best way I learnt to do that was by annoying people," Meklavar gave a small, encouraging laugh, remembering all the times she'd intentionally wound her brother up as a child when he didn't want to play with her. "And as a kid, I made friends with other annoying kids. We just used to go around, bothering people, but everyone was okay with it because we were little boys, and that's just what little boys do.

"But then I was a teenager, and annoying people turned into destroying their property or upsetting them on purpose. And we did dares, too. I'm ashamed of all of it now, but at the time I got a rush from it. We used to dare each other to steal from people, or scare them or take advantage of them. One of the other boys once let a fox loose into a farmer's chicken coop. And I couldn't just leave, because by then everyone knew me as an awful person and they didn't want anything to do with me."

He looked over at Meklavar, studied her face, watched her for any reaction, then went right back to looking out onto the sea.

"I did something really, _really_ stupid," He explained. "Someone dared me to pickpocket from a scary-looking woman when we were in the market town, to impress some girls. I was seventeen, and an idiot, so I did it. And I thought I'd gotten away with it, until she held her knife to my throat, and threatened me. And my friends. And my family.

"All my friends ran away. I haven't seen them since. And this woman grabs me by the arm, and I can feel her dagger, and she demands I work for her to pay for something I didn't even take. I was terrified, so I agreed. She comes to the town every now and then, to, uh, _check up_ on me. Terrorise people in my name. And I already had a reputation as a nasty little bastard, so no one questioned it."

"Is that why you live so far away from your family?" Meklavar asked.

"You've met Nadia," He said. "There are kids in that house. I can't let her anywhere near there. It's okay, though. I told her I wasn't doing her jobs anymore, and I meant it. Now I guess I just have to rebuild my reputation."

"I'm going to leave after my leg heals," She started. "But in the meantime, I can-"

"Pike!" Came a loud shout from the distance behind them. It was only then that Meklavar realised she couldn't hear the villagers talking to each other anymore.

"Pike!" Came the shout again, closer, and Meklavar recognised it as Rahael. Pike stiffened, and immediately turned on his heel and ran back the way they'd come, leaving Meklavar to move as fast as she could after him.

When she finally caught up, it was to find Pike face-to-face with the red-haired woman she'd seen in his house, her eyes wide and fixed on him, with Jessamin trying desperately to get between them.

"His debt is _paid!"_ She half-screamed, her tail puffed as far as it could be as she gripped her son's arm, her nails digging into his skin.

"I'm the debt holder," The red-haired woman said, with a nasty, toothy smile. She didn't take her eyes off Pike. "I'll decide when it’s been paid."

"Get out of this village." Jessamin said, voice harsher than Meklavar had ever heard it.

"What are you doing here?" Pike shouted, just as she opened her mouth to speak, or laugh, or scream.

"I have another job for you." She said, voice low, and she reached into her bag.

"Whatever it is, you can find someone else. I told you: last time was it. This is done."

The woman gave a laugh.

"Right," She said. "So, I want you to-"

"He's not going," Jessamin interrupted, and the woman whirled around to face her, glare already in place. She opened her mouth to speak but was once again interrupted. "You should leave."

With a growl, the woman reached out and took hold of Pike's forearm, and started to pull him away. Pike threw her off, however, and without her leverage she had nothing over him. Meklavar saw her reach for her weapon, but she did not pull it out. Instead, her eyes darted between Pike and his mother, before they settled on her, on her ears, and she gave a quick, almost imperceptible grin.

"Nice ears, _rat."_ She spat out, and then she turned on her heel, in a whirl of red, and left.

"Are you okay?" Jessamin asked Pike, and he gave a shaky nod.

"Do you think she'll be back?" He asked, and Jessamin didn't answer for a second. Instead, she reached for him, and gripped his shoulders.

"I think you should come home." She said instead. With a frown, Pike's eyes darted towards Meklavar and back again. When he spoke again, he did it in the language Meklavar couldn't understand, making it very clear he didn't want her to hear him.

**Author's Note:**

> for day 5 of pikelavar week, which you can find the info for here: https://defendersofaurita.tumblr.com/post/185625778262/in-honor-of-the-one-year-anniversary-since-the
> 
> i'm also on tumblr @ starsonthursday


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